Electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles commonly have a high-voltage power source such as a high-voltage storage device or a high-voltage fuel cell. The high-voltage power source provides electrical energy to power an electric machine such as a motor to propel the vehicle. In the case of hybrid electric vehicles, the electric machine may also act as a generator to charge the high-voltage storage device.
The high-voltage power source may provide a DC voltage much higher than traditional automotive voltages. Most electrical devices in these vehicles are designed to work with more traditional automotive voltages, such as between about twelve and fourteen volts, and will not work with DC voltage from the high-voltage power source. Some modern electrical devices may work with newer voltage standards such as forty-two and forty-eight volt standards, but the high-voltage power source still contains higher voltages than even the newer voltage standards. Therefore, many vehicles cable a DC/DC converter to the high-voltage storage device to provide power to electrical devices in the vehicle. In some cases, the DC/DC converter may also cable to a battery having a traditional automotive voltage. This arrangement requires space to store the DC/DC converter in the vehicle and requires cabling to go between the DC/DC converter and the two power sources.